Feeling
by rhapsodybree
Summary: A sequel to 'Feel' where Jane and Lisbon face 'I love you' for the first time and we get closer to catching Red John. On hiatus for story reconstruction.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

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'Now clear your mind. Listen only to the sound of my voice,' said Patrick Jane in a measured tone as he concentrated intensely on Grace van Pelt, hands raised in the air between them. 'Shut your eyes and open your mind to me.'

It was at this moment that Wayne Rigsby walked into the bullpen and looked slightly concerned at the scene before him. 'What's going on?' he whispered loudly to Kimball Cho.

'Jane reckons that he can find out what van Pelt was doing last night by reading her mind,' responded Cho from where he stood.

'Oh cool,' said Rigsby as he crossed his arms and stood next to Cho, looking at the duo intently.

'I'm getting it now,' continued Jane softly. 'You were out last night. With a group of people. Ten – no thirteen – people. You weren't expecting to have a good night, but you were surprised by the quality.'

Cho and Rigsby exchanged a look as Teresa Lisbon snorted softly from her seat on the edge of a desk nearby.

'It was a pleasant evening, and you think you'll find yourself returning to experience its pleasures once again on several occasions.' Rigsby choked as Cho taunted Jane. 'Get to the point man. Where was she?'

Jane stepped back with a flourish as van Pelt opened her eyes. 'Yoga.'

A look to van Pelt confirmed Jane's declaration. 'How did you know that?' she asked incredulously.

Jane raised his hands in a mysterious manner. 'A man never reveals his sources.'

'He saw your yoga kit last night,' said Lisbon, effectively popping Jane's bubble as the ex-psychic then turned to her. 'I beg to differ. It's all about mental calibration.'

Lisbon snorted as she slid off the desk. 'Call it what you like, you can't read minds.'

'Not true,' said Jane with a cheeky look on his face. 'I can read clearly what _you _did last night. If I'm not wrong, you had a good time. A _very _good time.'

Lisbon flushed as the team around her laughed and Virgil Minelli stepped into the room. 'Does any work actually get done here?' he barked as Lisbon almost snapped to attention. 'Sir!'

'A word Agent Lisbon,' said Minelli as the team scrambled to their respective desks, Jane happy to remain standing where he is, no doubt revelling in the fear with which the chief's arrival has instilled in the team. 'If you're not too busy that is.'

'Not at all sir.'

As Minelli leads the way to his office, Jane is close behind Lisbon. Seeing her boss's back turned from them, the now blush-free agent hit Jane's arm as she admonished him. 'Why did you do that?'

'Hey, I know for a fact that you had a good night last night,' said Jane conspiratorially as he rubbed his arm. 'No mind reading needed there.'

'It wasn't like that,' she whispered. 'Don't make it sound like that.'

His only response was a wide grin.

'If the class is ready, we shall begin,' said Minelli drily from his doorway as Lisbon realised that they had reached the office. 'Sorry chief.'

'Don't be sorry, just do a good job on this case,' sighed Minelli as he took his seat. 'It's a personal request from the Attorney General himself.'

'What now?' snorted Jane. 'Did one of his investments fall through or a good mate of his get caught for tax fraud or ... ?'

'His nephew was abducted and is now in a coma,' interrupted Minelli as Jane looked momentarily chagrined and Lisbon took over. 'Do you want us to find out who abducted the boy?'

Minelli looked at Jane and Lisbon a moment before he opened the file before him. 'Fifteen year old Christopher Mainstone-English was found by security in a shopping mall carpark in the early hours of this morning. He was conscious and talking...'

'Was he able to identify his abductor?' probed Lisbon.

'In a way,' said Minelli slowly as Lisbon looked confused. 'Sir?'

'He was claiming he was abducted by aliens.'

'Right,' said Lisbon as Jane rubbed his hands together gleefully. 'Oh goody. Aliens.'

'By the time the ambulance arrived, the boy had fallen unconscious and he has yet to wake up,' concluded Minelli as he closed the file. 'The family is waiting to speak with you.'

Handing the file over to Lisbon, he held it a moment longer as she grasped it. 'Now, I've assured the Attorney-General that I am putting my best team on the case. May I hope that this is still the case?'

'Absolutely sir,' promised Lisbon as she stood up and Minelli finally consented to let the file go. 'And Lisbon?'

'Sir?' said Lisbon pausing in the centre of the room.

'I don't need to remind you that a speedy resolution and your utmost discretion is absolutely vital do I?'

'But of course.'

'Be gone,' dismissed the chief as he turned back to the paperwork on his desk.

******************

Pulling on his jacket, Rigsby rounded the car to where Cho stood. 'Hey Cho, the mothership is calling for you,' he joked as Cho shut the car door.

'After you,' shot back Cho without missing a beat as they began their walk up the driveway to the sizable Mainstone-English mansion.

'Focus people,' called van Pelt as she came between them. 'And besides, there's no such thing as aliens.'

Meanwhile, Jane and Lisbon had almost reached the house. If you didn't know that a crime had been committed, you wouldn't know. There was no police presence or otherwise - the street looked exactly like how it normally would. Reaching the bottom of the steps leading up to the entrance, Lisbon turned to Jane with a semi-warning look on her face. 'Behave.'

Jane raised his hands in mock surrender. 'But of course. When haven't I?'

Lisbon raised her eyebrow in response as they shared a glance a second longer than considered socially acceptable before they walked up the steps in synchronisation. There was no need to knock as the door was opened before them when they reached the top and a well dressed man stepped out of the house.

'Agent Lisbon?' he queried with his hand outstretched toward Jane.

'Not me. Her,' clarified Jane with exaggerated hand movements as the man then turned to Lisbon. 'Sorry, Agent Lisbon. I'm Walter Seacrest.'

She nodded her head grimly as she shook his hand firmly. 'Lawyer?'

'No, more the all-round, go-to guy,' laughed the Walter, still maintaining his confident pose. Lisbon didn't join in the laughter. 'May we come in?'

'Please do.'

Asking Hugo and Allegra Mainstone-English about their son's life was proving a hopeless exercise as they could offer very little insight into Christopher's friends, school life and really, anything. Clearly bored with the way the conversation was going, Jane interrupted Lisbon's usual line of questioning. 'Your son was found ranting about alien abduction. What do you have to say about that?'

'Aliens?' said Allegra in a derisive tone, whilst still maintaining her perfect facade, as she exchanged a look with her husband. 'There's no such thing as aliens,' added Hugo with a trace of scorn.

'Not true,' said Jane raising his fingers. 'Who are we to decide that there aren't little green skinned men – or grey skinned or any coloured skin men for that matter – running all over the universe? After all, _we_ could even technically be called aliens.'

'Is this how your agents investigate cases?' asked Allegra is an accusatory tone, the mask still in place, as she turned to Lisbon.

'Consultant,' said Lisbon as a means of explanation, raising her shoulders to show her apparent lack of control over the situation.

'How is all this alien talk going to help find our son?' pressed Hugo as Jane turned on them once again. 'Ah ha. It might help, might not, but it's probably the best lead we've got at the moment because you two are such unloving and business-minded people that we're not going to get much help from you. You couldn't even tell us what Christopher was doing yesterday. And you have another son, but I don't see him anywhere, so... '

'Excuse me!' said Hugo in objection as he stood from the couch, outrage apparent on his face.

'Hit a nerve did I?' asked Jane in a cheery mood, Hugo's wrath not bothering him one iota.

'Don't you know who I am?' threatened Hugo in a tone that was a perfect balance between arrogance, confidence and all round smarminess.

'A pompous ass?' suggested Jane merrily as Lisbon turned in her seat. 'Jane...' she warned as he raised his hands and backed out the door.

'Don't worry, I'm done here,' he calls on his way down the hall. 'I'll off to the nosy neighbours' place.'

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_Next Chapter:_ Jane meets a girl who gives him a run for his money.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my own creations.

******************

Jane walked across the road without a worry in the world as he stepped into the Cole house. Bumping into Cho in the doorway, he gestured for the agent to enter in first before he thrust his hands into his pocket and meandered in. Van Pelt and Rigsby were speaking the mother and two daughters in the lounge room and Cho made his way over to join them.

Jo, Kimber and Sophie Cole were certain that they were witnesses and indeed the girls had a day of school as they eagerly recited what they could remember, gushing that it is so tragic that their 'best friend' Chris should be taken. Already bored with the interview, Jane wandered off.

Walking down the hall with his hands clasped behind his back, he notes the various photos on the wall before his sixth sense went into red alert. Looking without looking, he spotted a teenage girl, looking no older than sixteen years of age, sitting on the top step of the stairs.

Spinning on the spot, Jane ambled back down the way he had come and then quickly turned and stood in front of the steps. The girl didn't startle.

'So who are you and what are you doing here?' asked Jane conversationally.

There was no response.

Momentarily perturbed that his question garnered no response – or indeed any reaction – he wondered at how to approach this girl who maintained his gaze on her face. Suddenly it hits him. 'Can you hear me?'

The teenager scrunches her face up and taps at her ears.

'Ah, deaf it is,' said Jane to himself. He points at his lips, but the teenager shakes her head. Lip-reading was out too by the looks of it.

Holding her gaze for a moment longer, he looked at her thoughtfully before he turned on his heel and entered the lounge room again. In his absence, Lisbon had arrived at the house. 'Can I have a word with you?' he asked loudly, interrupting van Pelt's line of questioning.

'Sorry, sorry,' he apologised cheerily at van Pelt's annoyed look and waved his hands in the air. Lisbon, Rigsby and Cho followed him as he stepped back into the passageway. 'She knows something,' he declared, pointing up at the stairs.

'Who?' asked Lisbon in confusion as Rigsby shook his head. 'She's the deaf kid – Millie Cole. How could she have heard anything to tell us about?'

'She's got four other senses to use,' said Cho drily.

'What?' laughed Rigsby. 'She's going to show us by taste?'

Cho flashed Rigsby a look. 'How about eyes?'

'Oh yeah,' said Rigsby sheepishly. 'She probably saw something.'

'Beside the point here guys,' interrupted Lisbon impatiently. 'How do you know?' she questioned Jane directly.

Jane ignored them all as he re-entered the lounge room and made his way over to Jo, Kimber and Sophie. 'Is there another person in the house that we don't know about?' he asked, interrupting van Pelt once again.

'Sorry?' asked Jo in confusion.

Jane made his point by nodding toward the stairs. 'Oh you mean Millie?' snorted Kimber. 'She's deaf,' added Sophie.

Millie's mother was more soft in her approach. 'She's not that smart,' added Jo. 'You got that right,' snorted Kimber again.

Jane ignored all this. 'How do I talk to her?'

'You'll be needing an interpreter for that,' said Sophie dramatically. 'And Miss High and Mighty is very particular, so good luck about that,' added Kimber.

'Well thank you very much for that,' said Jane, effectively putting an end to whatever diatribe was going to spew forth from the mouths of these loving family members, as he clapped his hands together and left the room once again.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs he looked up. Millie Cole had not moved, but he knew intelligent eyes when he saw them. He raised his arm and gestured for her to come down the stairs. There was a moment of doubt, before the deaf teen rose from her perch and disappeared.

'You scared her off,' snorted Rigsby as Jane's arm fell to his side and van Pelt joined them. Van Pelt was advising Lisbon on the bountiful – but ultimately useless – information that the Cole family had given her, and so it was only Rigsby, Cho and Jane who saw Millie Cole come down the stairs with a jacket and bag minutes later.

She hit the ground, hitched her bag higher up onto her shoulder and gave them all an exasperated look. You didn't need to know sign language to know what that meant.

******************

Half an hour later Cho opened the interview room door and gestured for Millie Cole to enter. Rigsby stepped into the room behind Cho as Jane and Lisbon stood behind the glass.

Millie stood against the wall, and looked at the two male detectives. Rigsby opened his mouth and then shut it just as quickly as he tried to figure out how to communicate with the deaf girl. Cho simply extended his arm to the chair on the far side of the table and brought his hands together to gesture sit.

Once Millie had done so, Cho gestured a drink and the girl shook her head. Rigsby followed Cho from the room in disbelief. 'I didn't know you knew sign language.'

'I don't,' said Cho continuing to walk away.

'But how...?' asked Rigsby in confusion.

'It ain't that hard to gesture a seat or drink man.'

Meanwhile behind the glass, Jane was scrutinising the teen who now sat at the desk. 'Hopefully van Pelt will get an interpreter in quickly,' said Lisbon from her position next to him.

'I'm not buying the whole dumb deaf girl thing,' said Jane. 'Look at the way she's sussing out the place.'

'Well, we'll just have to wait and see if that miraculous gut of yours is right or wrong this time won't we?' teased Lisbon.

'I'm never wrong,' said Jane defending himself. 'I may make an error here or there – but I'm never wrong.'

'Sure,' snorted Lisbon.

It wasn't until forty five minutes later that an interpreter could be found. Millie had a drink of water by now, and Cho was sitting wordleslly opposite her when the door opened and a brown-haired woman stepped in the door.

'Hi, I'm Cherise Knowles the interpreter,' she signed and spoke at the same time.

'Agent Cho,' said Cho shortly, indicating to himself before extending his arm to the teenager. 'Millie Cole.'

Cherise takes the seat next to him and Cho shuffles his papers together and is ready to begin the interview, but before they can do so, Millie raises her hand and they all watch as she raises her hands and they fly across her body and face.

Seeing lots of signing between the interpreter and their witness, but with no words verbalised, Cho puts a stop to it. 'What is going on here?'

Cherise rolled her eyes and turned to Cho. 'The girl here wants to test my interpreting skills first.'

'Oh okay,' said Cho, quite accepting of the fact.

There is a flurry of more signs before Millie gestures to Cho to start. Startling slightly at the order, Cho nevertheless commences the interview, asking Millie if she knew that Christopher Mainstone-English had gone missing. Cherise interpreted the question, Millie signed something in response and Cherise voiced. 'Yes I know that Christopher Maidstone-English has apparently gone missing.'

Preparing to move onto the next question, Cho is bemused when Millie shakes her head and gestures for pen and paper from him.

From behind the glass, Lisbon looks in on confusion as Jane grins. Picking up the paper, Cho left the room, followed closely by Cherise Knowles. It is Cho and van Pelt who enter the observation room. 'Apparently she wants another interpreter,' said Cho.

'What? Why?' asked Lisbon.

'Apparently this one is no good,' elaborated Cho. 'The interpreter said the victim had apparently gone missing, when she'd actually signed that she knew the victim had been abducted.'

'How would she know?' asked Lisbon.

'She lipread her,' answered Jane with a grin as Cho nodded his head and confirmed Jane's response.

'An interpreter's an interpreter though right?' asked van Pelt.

'Apparently not,' said Lisbon. 'How are we supposed to get one that she'll use?'

'She's given me a list of the acceptable ones,' said Cho holding out the paper.

They all share a look before Lisbon makes the decision. 'Call one in.'

******************

When Jeanette di Campi arrives, Jane grabs Cho's arm before he heads back into the interview room for round two. 'Ask her if she felt like Cinderella.'

'What?' asked Cho, shooting the consultant a confused look.

'Just ask her,' said Jane.

Cho shook his head, but nonetheless, when Jane joined Lisbon behind the glass once again, Cho put the question to the teenager. 'You must have felt like Cinderella today,' he said in his steady voice.

The teenager grinned as she signed her response. 'I've even got the attic bedroom to match,' was the sarcastic response. 'But unfortunately, the twin sisters are actually mine.'

'I love this girl,' said Jane as Lisbon hushed him and focussed on the interview where they were finally getting to the point.

'Topher never came home last night,' signed Millie.

'Who's Topher?' asked Cho in confusion.

'Christopher Mainstone-English. They boy that was abducted,' elaborated Millie. 'Maybe his nickname was Chris, but I called him Topher.'

'Right...' strung out Cho as the teenager pressed on.

'Anyway... Topher never came home from school yesterday.'

'How do you know?' interrupted Cho.

'We always get home at the same time,' signed Millie. 'His bus pulls up on the left and mine pulls up on the right at the same time.'

'We have a witness that says that Christopher – Topher – was at home last night.'

'Well, I don't know about your witness,' signed Millie. 'But I can tell you with 100% certainty that he did not get off the bus yesterday, and he did not go to his usual soccer training like he usually does on a Wednesday afternoon.'

'I see,' said Cho.

'And if your witness is his parents, then you should know that their cars didn't get home until way late last night.' Millie paused a moment. 'If it were me, I'd ask the brother.'

'The brother?' pressed Cho.

'Who do you think takes Topher to soccer training?'

Lisbon turned away from the glass as Jane raised his finger. 'We need to talk to speak with the brother.'

'How can we be sure that she's telling the truth?' questioned Lisbon. 'She called the victim Topher – but he goes by Chris.'

'Eh,' brushed off Jane. 'You know what they say, there's a grain of truth in every lie.'

'Fine,' sighed Lisbon. 'Wait til the interview is done and then take Rigsby with you. You can drop her home in the process.'

After a most informative interview where Millie showed observation capabilities akin to that of Patrick Jane himself, Jane and Millie stood waiting in front of the elevator doors, Rigsby standing behind them. Jane's thinking when Millie turns and looks up at him. 'Sucks knowing yourself so well doesn't it?' she spoke in clear understandable English.

His first thought is how the hell did she know what he was thinking, and then his second thought is voiced by Rigsby as the elevator doors open and they step inside. 'You can talk?!'

The teenager propped her arms against the bar at the back of the elevator as she looked at them with a smirk before responding sarcastically. 'It's a miracle.'

******************

_Next Chapter:_ The aliens make an appearance once again!


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